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DRESS FASTENER (DRESS)
Unique ID: LON-B99465
Object type certainty: Certain
Workflow
status: Awaiting validation 
A post-medieval copper alloy dress fastener, probably dating to the 16th century. This hooked tag is constructed from five pieces of wire shaped and fastened together using a thinner gauge creating a wound wire accessory of a type known to date to the 16th century. One piece of the thicker gauge wire has been shape to form a hook with the two ends curled into spirals. The remaining four pieces of thicker wire also have their ends curled into spirals repeating the pattern from the hooked section. All of these pieces are fastened together using two lengths of the thinner gauge wire. There is a third length of the thinner gauge wire which has been wrapped around the body of the hooked section. The overall shape of this hooked tag is slightly distorted and two of the spiral terminals are missing.
Egan & Forsyth (1997:227 fig. 15.10) illustrate similar wire-work accessories for which they suggest a date of 16th century.
Dimensions: length: 39.64mm; width: 42.46mm; thickness: 7.77mm; weight: 8.90g.
Reference: Egan, G. and Forsyth, H. 1997. Wound Wire and Silver Gilt. In Gaimster, D. & Stamper, P. 1997. The Age of Transition. The Archaeology of English Culture 1400-1600. Society Medieval Archaeology Monograph 15 (Oxbow Monograph Series 98) Oxbow, Oxford.
Subsequent actions
Subsequent action after recording: Returned to finder
Chronology
Broad period: POST MEDIEVAL
Subperiod from: Early
Period from: POST MEDIEVAL
Subperiod to: Early
Period to: POST MEDIEVAL
Date from: Circa AD 1500
Date to: Circa AD 1600
Dimensions and weight
Quantity: 1
Length: 39.64 mm
Width: 42.46 mm
Thickness: 7.77 mm
Weight: 8.9 g
Personal details
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Materials and construction
Primary material: Copper alloy
Manufacture method: Hand made
Completeness: Incomplete
Spatial metadata
Region: London (European Region)County or Unitary authority: Greater London Authority (Greater London Authority)
District: City and County of the City of London (London Borough)
Parish or ward: Vintry (London Borough Ward)
Spatial coordinates
4 Figure: TQ3280
Four figure Latitude: 51.503528
Four figure longitude: -0.099555
1:25K map: TQ3280
1:10K map: TQ38SW
Grid reference source: From finder
Unmasked grid reference accurate to a 1 metre square.
References cited
| Author | Publication Year | Title | Publication Place | Publisher | Pages | Reference | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Egan, G. and Forsyth, H. | 1997 | Wound wire and Silver Gilt: changing fashions in dress accessories c.1400-c.1600 | Oxford | Oxbow Monograph 98 | fig.15.10 |
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Timeline of associated dates
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